Heroism is Hereditary
by mmooch
Summary: **Part of the 2011 LiveJournal's Twisted Shorts August Fic-A-Day** series. The truth behind Hank's 'abandonment'.


**August 21, 2011 – Heroism is Hereditary**

Summary: **Part of the 2011 LiveJournal's Twisted Shorts August Fic-A-Day** series. The truth behind Hank's 'abandonment'.

Challenge: for the livejournal 2011 August Fic a Day Challenge. And #6471 on TtH.

Timeline: post-season 1 for BtVS; AU-ness for Daredevil.

Warning: nasty people talking about nasty stuff, but only vaguely.

A/N: I like being able to redeem Hank whenever possible, so creating a different reason why he disappeared was easy for me to do.

Disclaimer: BtVS and AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. Daredevil characters belong to Stan Lee, Bill Everett and Marvel Comics. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

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><p><strong>New York City<strong>

The day had started out like any other in the city that never sleeps.

He got up, ate breakfast, blah-blah-blah, until he went to his morning appointment. Sometimes he thought maybe his employer, Canisewe & Hind, was trying to keep him away from his daughter. It bothered him that he had to cancel their plans…again for this weekend. If she didn't already hate him for the divorce, she would because he kept getting sent out of town on business.

At least he was kind of back home – although it was a home he had tried to forget about.

New York City, and more specifically Hell's Kitchen, was a place he worked hard to put behind him since his father's murder. It wasn't that he was ashamed of being Jack Murdock's son, but his father's last words before dying were that he wanted a better life for his boy.

A move to the other side of the country, an adoption by the Summers family and a name change gave him all that. The only thing was that he had to do was give up being Matt to be Henry and when he was older, Hank.

Twenty-five years later, he was back; this time to sue one of Wilson Fisk's property management companies on behalf of tenants hurt by the slum-like conditions of the buildings they lived in. They won the case, but were unable to prove Fisk had any personal knowledge of the situation, much to Hank's dismay.

As he walked back to his car, Hank crossed the busy street. An action that would change his life forever.

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><p><strong>Hospital<strong>

**Several hours later…**

"What happens if he can identify anyone?" a voice asked, causing Hank to wake up.

The voice that answered made him stay still and pretend like he hadn't. It was Fisk's right hand man. The words he said turned Hank's stomach, "Then we pay his little girl a visit. Shouldn't be too difficult to convince her to tell her daddy to keep his mouth shut. Could be fun if she decided to put up a fight," the man added with a lecherous chuckle. His intentions towards Buffy were clear.

Those voices were quiet, but the next voice seemed like it was practically yelling.

"Mr. Summers?" a nurse asked quietly. "Are you awake?" She guessed he was because of what the vitals were telling her, but she still had to ask.

"Where am I?" Hank wanted to know.

"You're at St. Mary's Hospital. There was an accident and you were hit with some chemicals. A couple detectives are here to ask you some questions. Do you feel up to it?" she checked.

He shrugged, not seeing that he had much of a choice. "I guess."

While she went to get the police officers, Hank tried to figure out what happened to him. A truck took a corner too fast and one of the barrels fell off. The lid came loose, which caused the liquids inside to splash on him. His body felt like it was burning, then blissful blackness when he passed out from the pain.

"Mr. Summers," one of the detectives greeted as they came in the room. "My name is Detective Michaels and this is my partner, Detective Stanley. We have some questions about what happened to you today."

Hank started relaying what he could remember. It wasn't until the other detective spoke that he was surprised; the voice was the same one he heard talking to Fisk's man earlier. Remembering the threat to his baby girl, Hank kept a couple details to himself. It made him sick to let Fisk get away with this, but he couldn't put Buffy at risk.

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><p>After they left, supposedly disappointed that he wasn't able to help them more, Hank wondered what he should do next. Slowly he started to realize that something unusual was going on with his body. He could hear and smell things that should have been impossible.<p>

Yeah, he knew that when one sense was taken away, the others increased to compensate, but he didn't think it was immediate or as great as he was experiencing.

A voice literally appeared out of nowhere. He hadn't heard anyone walk in, so the man's appearance actually startled him. "Name's Whistler," the man with a Bronx accent announced, sitting next to Hank so they could talk. "Got a proposition for you."

He went on to explain that Fisk wouldn't let it go. Summers had proven himself to be a problem to be dealt with, and if that meant going after Hank's family, so be it. But Whistler and his bosses had another option for him to consider.

If Hank was willing to become Matt Murdock by day and a vigilante named Daredevil by night, they'd help Hank Summers disappear in such a way that Fisk wouldn't care about him anymore. The catch was that Buffy would think he abandoned her.

When Hank pointed out that people who saw him as Hank would recognize him when he was Matt, Whistler said that was easily fixed with some plastic surgery. What was his choice?

Hank wasn't sure. As much as he wanted to trust the police to keep him and his family safe, if Fisk had at least one cop on his payroll, who's to say he didn't have more? Fisk was powerful enough that he might even have Feds in his pocket, too. Was there really a choice? He had to hurt Buffy to protect her. It was the only thing he could do, though. She couldn't fight back against Fisk's men, and he feared the other things they could do to her.

And if he was honest with himself, the idea that he could use his alter-ego to go after Fisk's people wasn't so bad. Maybe if he ever managed to put Fisk away, Hank Summers could return to beg his daughter's forgiveness.

"I'll do it," he growled. Just like that, Matt Murdock was returning to Hell's Kitchen to clean it up, one way or the other.

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><p>AN: Yeah, I messed with Daredevil's canon a little, but it was for a good cause. And I wouldn't want to be Whistler or the Powers if Buffy ever finds out.

Tomorrow's (hopeful) fic: Jonathan/Bleach.


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